Blue Note at 75...or 100

You may have heard recently that the venerable jazz label Blue Note Records, on the occasion of their 75th Anniversary, has created a “75th Anniversary Vinyl Initiative,” where they will release five re-mastered vinyl recordings that it considers essential, in the original, much admired — and often imitated — sleeve design. Vinyl and design enthusiasts should collectively applaud Blue Note’s undertaking, even if the concept is flawed in execution.

The rollout, which is already underway and will continue through next October, was intended to be 75 releases — however, that list is actually 100 titles. According to head honcho Don Was, there was unanimous agreement on “the first fifty.” The balance of the list was “highly subjective” and compiled somewhat collectively from different factions in the Universal Music Group.

I think they should have tried harder to keep that number at 75. You couldn’t have whittled down the four selections each from Hank Mobley, Wayne Shorter or Herbie Hancock?

In an interview that accompanies The New York Times article on this initiative, Was mentions that sales performance played, at least, a part. And that if fans “come up with a consensus on something we missed, we’ll put it in there. Maybe we’ll make November 2015 for five that didn’t make it.” Wait…what? Is that the sound of cash registers growing the list? Did “essential” just become “most popular?”

“Essential” lists are one of music fan’s great passions — I doubt you’ll find ANY two exactly alike — and we all know someone who’ll slide the ol’ double-album or three into the list and count it as one. Comparing and arguing over these lists is half the fun. Blue Note should be saluted; there’s some pretty obscure stuff on this list. Still…you can’t help but wish they had held onto the original idea of the “essential 75” a little more tightly, holding each of them up to a higher standard than simply “what sells.” That list becomes an entirely different animal.

I look forward to the label turning 100. At that point, there will surely be “125 must-haves.” Or if we go grow our Top 100 proportionally, is it 133 1/3? That has a nice ring to it. Surely there’s a third of a forgotten classic out there somewhere that didn’t sell…

Your thoughts? What could come off of this list to make it a true “essential“ 75?